closed round so as to nip off the dorsal and ventral vessels entirely from the hypoblast, this brown body is no longer to be seen; but floating in the liquid of both dorsal and ventral vessels, and also in the vessels of the tentacles, are pale pink-coloured corpuscles, which in sections are seen to have the appearance of broken-off bits of the dark body present in the earlier stage, and containing for the most part each more than one nucleus. There seems to me to be very little doubt that by the further breaking up of such multinucleate corpuscles the blood-corpuscles of the adult (which were described by Benham at the meeting of the British Association last year) would be formed. I was unfortunately not able to obtain later larval stages and to observe this breaking up going on. But I think my sections of what stages I have justify me in concluding that the peculiar dark body of the middle region of the larva is a corpuscleforming organ. I do not, however, wish to maintain that all the corpuscles of the adult are formed from this larval organ; on the contrary, to judge by sections of the adult, which Dr. Bles kindly lent me to look through whilst I was at Plymouth, I think this is at least a special bloodforming region in the dorsal vessel of the adult; but, without having intermediate stages, and a complete series of sections of the adult, I cannot say whether this region corresponds to that in which the larval organ lies. I should like to point out the resemblance which this provisional larval organ bears, both in structure and position, to what I have called the vascular ridge' in part of the dorsal vessel of Hekaterobranchus (Q.J.M.S.,' xxxi. pp. 183, 184, pl. xxii. fig. 6). Like other members of the family Spionidæ, Hekaterobranchus has no corpuscles in its blood, and the presence of an organ in the dorsal vessel so closely resembling the one in the dorsal vessel of the larval Magelona suggests, in the light of the facts I have stated above, either that it at one time did have blood-corpuscles formed by a special organ, now persisting only as a vestigial rudiment, or that an organ once having some other significance in both animals has acquired a new significance in the one (Magelona).

II. On the Nervous System of the Embryonic Lobster.
By EDGAR J. ALLEN, B.Sc.

Whilst occupying a table at the Marine Biological Association's Laboratory during June and July 1894 I was enabled to continue my observations on the nervous system of the embryonic lobster. The observations were carried on, as before, with the aid of methylen-blue.

Additional elements connecting the various ganglia of the thorax with the brain were observed, and their course followed. In the nine ganglia of which the thoracic nerve-chain is really composed, such elements have now been demonstrated in the second (with branches to first and third), the fifth (with branches to fourth and sixth), the eighth (with branches to seventh and ninth), and in the eleventh (with branches to tenth and first abdominal). In this way all the eleven ganglia of the thorax, together with the first abdominal ganglion, are put into direct communication with the brain by means of the four elements whose cells lie in the second, fifth, eighth, and eleventh ganglia.

Of elements belonging to new types which were observed the most interesting were those motor elements which, taking origin in a single cell, gave rise to two or more branches, which passed out of the central nervous system by the nerve-roots of different ganglia. For example, a

cell lying in the anterior portion of the lateral mass of ganglion cells in the eighth thoracic ganglion was seen to give off a moderately fine fibre, which divided into two branches, one branch passing immediately out of the ganglion through the anterior nerve-root, whilst the other ran forwards along the ganglionic cord. The forward branch pursued a perfectly straight course until it reached the third thoracic ganglion, where it gave off a branch passing out through the posterior root of the ganglion, and then continued to run forwards to the second thoracic ganglion, passing out through its posterior root. Hence this element, the cell of which lay in the eighth thoracic ganglion, supplied fibres to three nerve-roots belonging to different ganglia, namely, the anterior root of Thorax VIII., the posterior root of Thorax III., and the posterior-root of Thorax II. A number of additional elements were also found in the abdomen. These resemble in a general way those of the thorax, and will be described in detail in a paper which will be published in the 'Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science.'

III. On the Echinoderm Fauna of Plymouth. By J. C. SUMNER.

On receiving the nomination to the British Association Table at Plymouth, I went down in the early part of January with the intention of working at the Echinoderm fauna of the neighbourhood. Unluckily, during the greater part of the time the weather was too bad to permit of any dredging or trawling being done outside the Sound. In consequence the following list is largely compiled from specimens already in the collections at Plymouth. One unnamed specimen in a bottle turned out to be Amphiura Chiajii. It was taken two miles S. of the Breakwater, and I believe has not been recorded so far south before.

In conclusion I can only say that I hope to be able to revisit Plymouth before long.

The present state of our knowledge of the Zoology and Botany of the West India Islands, and on taking steps to investigate ascertained deficiencies in the Fauna and Flora.-Eighth Report of the Committee, consisting of Dr. P. L. SCLATER (Chairman), Mr. GEORGE MURRAY (Secretary), Mr. W. CARRUTHERS, Dr. A. C. L. G. GÜNTHER, Dr. D. SHARP, Mr. F. DUCANE GODMAN, and Professor A. NEWTON.

THIS Committee was appointed in 1887, and it has been reappointed each year until the present time.

The Committee have made no fresh collections during the past year, but have continued the work of dealing with those already made; and the following papers have been published, or are complete and ready for publication:

1. Additional notes on Mr. Elliott's Hepatica, by Antony Gepp, M.A. (Journal of Botany).

2. On some small collections of Odonata (Dragonflies) from the West Indies, by W. F. Kirby, F.L.S. (Annals and Magazine of Natural History).

3. On the Longicorn Coleoptera of the West India Islands, by C. J. Gahan, M.A. (Transactions Entomological Society).

4. Report on the Hemiptera of the families Anthocoride and Ceratocombida, by Professor Uhler (Zoological Society).

5. Report on the Hemiptera Heteroptera of the island of Grenada, by Professor Uhler (Zoological Society).

6. Report on the Hemiptera Homoptera of St. Vincent, by Professor Uhler (Zoological Society).

The examination of the following collections has been undertaken:Diatomaceous earths, by Mr. E. Grove.

The Scolytidæ, by Mr. W. F. H. Blandford.

The Diptera of Grenada, by Professor Williston.

The Lepidoptera Heterocera, by Messrs. Butler and Hampson.
The land and fresh-water shells, by Mr. E. A. Smith.
The Elateride and Heteromera, by Mr. Champion.
The Phytophaga and Lamellicornia, by Mr. Gahan.
The Buprestida, by Captain Kerremans.

The Committee recommend their reappointment, without a grant, to continue the working out of the collections, the following to be members :-Dr. Sclater (Chairman), Dr. Günther, Dr. Sharp, Mr. Godman, Mr. Carruthers, Mr. G. F. Hampson, and Mr. George Murray (Secretary).

Index Generum et Specierum Animalium.-Report of a Committee, consisting of Sir W. H. FLOWER (Chairman), Mr. P. L. SCLATER, Dr. H. WOODWARD, and Mr. W. L. SCLATER (Secretary), appointed for superintending the Compilation of an Index Generum et Specierum

Animalium.

THE Committee have received from Mr. C. Davies Sherborn the following report of work done since the last meeting of the Association.

Report of Work done from July 1, 1894, to June 30, 1895.

Considerable progress has been made in recording during the past year, no less than 480 books and pamphlets having been searched page by page. The chief works dealt with were the French dictionaries of the early part of the century; and when it is mentioned that one of these ('Dictionnaire des Sciences naturelles') runs to sixty volumes of 500 pages each, some idea of the labour expended will be arrived at.

The determination of exact date of publication has been proceeded with, the chief results comprising

'Sowerby's Recent and Fossil Shells.'
'Shaw's Naturalist's Miscellany.'

'Moore's Lepidoptera Indica.'

Remembering the generous gift of the Association last year, the compiler does not ask for a grant on this occasion, but merely for the reappointment of the Committee.

Migration of Birds.-Report of the Committee, consisting of Professor A. NEWTON (Chairman), Mr. JOHN CORDEAUX (Secretary), Mr. J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, Mr. WM. EAGLE CLARKE, Mr. R. M. BARRINGTON, and the Rev. E. PONSONBY KNUBLEY, appointed to make a Digest of the Observations on the Migration of Birds at Lighthouses and Light-vessels.

THE Committee have to report that one of their number, Mr. Wm. Eagle Clarke, has, after very great labour, completed the tabulation, on 2,500 prepared sheets, of the schedules sent in during nine years from the lighthouses and light-vessels on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, not a single entry in the original schedules having been omitted. These tabulated sheets have reference to the various birds observed on migration under the separate headings of species, locality, and date.

There now remains the real and most important part of the work— the results arrived at by the nine years' observation-and in order to complete this it is necessary again to consult the vast pile of original schedules with reference to several important headings having connection with meteorological conditions and direction of flight.

Your Committee trust that the final report will be ready for presentation at the next meeting of the Association in 1896, and respectfully ask for their reappointment.

Occupation of a Table at the Zoological Station at Naples.-Report of the Committee, consisting of Dr. P. L. SCLATER, Professor E. RAY LANKESTER, Professor J. COSSAR EWART, Professor M. FOSTER. Professor S. J. HICKSON, Mr. A. SEDGWICK, and Mr. PERCY SLADEN (Secretary).

APPENDIX

I.-The Maturation and Fecundation of the Ova of certain Echinoderms
and Tunicates. By M. D. Hill.

II.--List of Naturalists who have worked at the Zoological Station from
July 1, 1894, to June 30, 1895

III.-List of Papers which were published in 1894 by Naturalists who have occupied Tables in the Zoological Station

.

PAGE

475

477

478

THE Table in the Naples Zoological Station hired by the British Association has been occupied during the past year, under the sanction of your Committee, by Mr. M. D. Hill, who has continued his investigations on the maturation and fecundation of the ova of certain Echinoderms and Tunicates, and has arrived at several interesting and original conclusions, which are briefly sketched out in the appended report of his work which Mr. Hill has furnished.

Your Committee would draw attention to the concluding remarks in Mr. Hill's report respecting the advantages attending the occupation of a table at Naples apart from the exceptional facilities for special and predetermined investigations; and your Committee consider that this furnishes an argument which is alone more than sufficient to justify the continuance of the grant.

Your Committee trust that the General Committee will sanction the payment of the grant of 1007., as in previous years, for the hire of the Table in the Zoological Station at Naples.

The efficiency of the Station in promoting research is now so universally recognised that a recapitulation is unnecessary; and it is an eloquent fact that notwithstanding the rapid multiplication of biological laboratories throughout Europe and America, the number of naturalists who avail themselves of the Naples institution averages between fifty and sixty annually.

Perhaps the most far-reaching move yet undertaken by the Zoological Station consists in the establishment of a small Zoological Station on New Britain (also known as Neu Pommern), an island adjacent to New Guinea. Mr. Parkinson, a planter, who had lived there for some years, recently called upon Dr. Dohrn in Naples, and expressed his willingness to erect a small building on his estate suitable for a laboratory, if the Naples Station would provide all the necessary apparatus. This generous offer was accepted, and the requisite equipment was duly despatched from Germany and Naples last September.

At the same time Mr. Arthur Willey, whose name is well known for his work on Tunicates and Amphioxus, and who has previously occupied